The Hidden Agenda Of The Democrats

Deep within the multi-thousand pages of the Stimulus, Heath Care, and Financial Reform bills is language which creates new agencies, reporting to the Executive Branch, which can, at their discretion, impose new regulation, penalties, and taxes that don't require Congress' approval. In addition, the powers of existing agencies like the IRS, Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Treasury Department have been greatly expanded; thus, again, bypassing any legislative approval by Congress in the enforcement of almost every activity in American life and not just those related to health care, banking, and finance.

What the Democrats have done is to establish a framework for the Obama Administration to act independently of Congress in the implementation of a highly liberal and progressive agenda. And, it is my belief that the Democratic leadership of this Congress did this because they knew that their radical legislative activities over the last year and a half might cost them their control of Congress in the Fall elections. So, in doing so, they have handed Obama unprecedented powers to "fundamentally change" America; even if the Republicans gain control of Congress for the remainder of Obama's first term in office. Just mark my words. It's the plan!

Reselling A Lemon

This week, Obama launched a week where he and members of his Administration will try to resell ObamaCare to the nation. This reminds me of a slick car salesman who sold someone a lemon and is now trying to convince them to keep it. So, in the middle of the BP oil spill---perhaps the greatest environmental disaster the world has seen -- Obama has, again, found time to push his left-wing agenda rather than take care of business.

If ObamaCare was such a great deal, he wouldn't have to resell it. But, a day doesn't go by that we don't find out another pitfall in this pitiful legislation. Direct costs are now well over a trillion dollars however, when selling this pig, Obama promised it would never reach that level. The cost of health care insurance, as noted by numerous independent studies, is only going to go up, not down as promised. Indirectly, corporations will be eating more taxes and, as such, some have already determined that, under ObamaCare, they might be better off dumping their Corporate-supported, private insurance and just paying the fines. Doctor's, too, have weighed in by turning their heads to any new Medicaid or Medicare patients.

The people aren't dumb but, this President is presuming they are with this new sales effort. Like too many things with Obama, he's clueless.

Waxman On, Waxman Off

Apparently, those dastardly corporations that had declared that ObamaCare will cost them billions in lost tax benefits won't have to go to Congress to be dragged through the mud by California Democrat, Henry Waxman. That's because, as of yesterday, Waxman canceled his intended Congressional kangaroo court.

No matter what the explanation is that O'Henry gives for the cancellation, I am quite sure that the Democrats finally realized that, by having hearings about the shortcomings of ObamaCare, they would be only adding fuel to the public's anger. Only a fool would have hearings to accentuate the negatives of their own policy.

More ObamaCare Stupidity

First, we find out that any children with pre-existing conditions had been completely excluded from ObamaCare; embarrasing Obama who had been touting, both before and after the bill's passage, that these children would be taken care of. Then, Corporations started declaring that ObamaCare will cause them to lose billions of dollars in tax benefits. Benefits they had been receiving to continue private health insurance for their retirees; rather than discontinue that benefit at age 65 and force those people onto Medicare. Now, it is apparent that the affected companies will now pay less taxes because of higher expenses and, more importantly, they no longer have any incentive to keep from throwing their retirees onto Medicare at age 65. Subsequently, Medicare costs will go up higher than expected.

Now, we find out the most laughable impact of all under ObamaCare: That Members of Congress will lose their own "rich" health care plans. Apparently § 1312(d)(3)(D)(i) states that members of Congress must either subscribe to health plans that are formulated under the new dictates of ObamaCare or buy their insurance from any one of the newly created health care Exchanges (Click to See Full Story: Ooops! Congress loses health care plan under Obamacare?).

And, added to both the laughability and stupidity factor, you now have Democratic members of Congress questioning how this could happen. Maybe if these idiots spent more time reading the bill, rather than scheming on how to pass it against the will of the people and the rules of Congress, they would have realized what they had done. But, when you "intentionally" draft legislation that is so large and so cross-referenced it takes a doctorate to decipher, this is what happens. It just proves that Congress could have cared less about what was in the law. They could care less if it helped or hurt Americans. Their only interest in passing it was that it would give the Federal Government complete control of health care in America.

Hit and Run

Just like a driver who flees the scene after inflicting both physical and immeasurable psychological damage, Bart Stupak has now decided to flee the scene of his crime and retire from the U.S. Senate. Like so many other Democrats who have already read the handwriting on the wall, Stupak is getting out while the getting is good. The worst thing for any politician is to lose in an election and this guy had a big "L" all over his forehead. This phony Pro-Lifer and his contingent of 8 or 11 others who are supposedly Pr0-Life almost single-handedly allowed for the final passage of the health care reform bill. He and that stupid contingency of other Pro-Life Democrats bought into Obama's lie that the abortion expansion that had been written into the health care law could be easily overridden by a Presidential executive order. If that were true, then a line-item-veto would never been needed to exclude individual spending items from any Congressional Budget Bill. But, we all know that no President has the power to do that.

So, as it stands right now, "Stupak the Stupid", becomes another in a long list of sacrificial lambs that were slaughtered at the unholy altar of Obama, Pelosi and Reid so Obama could have a legacy other than possibly being the worst President this country has ever seen.

I say... Good riddance!

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Rush Predicted It

Right after ObamaCare was signed into law, Rush Limbaugh was having another one of his kidding around moments at the microphone as he related a story (I don't know if its actually true or not) of a person who went to a local hospital and demanded that they get a free operation now that ObamaCare had passed. As Rush went on to explain, that person got a real shock when he/she found out that most of the benefits of ObamaCare won't even kick in until 2014.

In reality, Rush was right on the money. We now know that many Americans are confused as to what ObamaCare will really do for them and when. Since the law was passed, health care providers and health insurers are getting inundated with calls from people who are under the complete misconception that all the benefits of ObamaCare are available to them right now. In fact, this news/opinion piece that appeared in this morning's McClatchy papers and on the Drudge Report, "Health care overhaul spawns mass confusion for public", says it all.

This confusion is a direct result of the Democrats telling us about all the great things they've done for us by passing their health care reform. However, like some schiester selling swamp land in Florida, they neglected to reveal that the real meat of their program wouldn't be available until 2014. That's because, to implement those things, now, would completely blow out the deficit. So, Americans are finding out that the new health care reform is actually a lay-away plan; with payments starting now. Nancy Pelosi was dead-on when she proclaimed: "People will have to wait until the bill is passed before they will know what's in it".

I just can't believe that the Democrats thought they could pull the wool over America's eyes -- as if none of this stuff would ever come out. In fact, if you listened to them, they really thought that the people would come to love what they've done once all the facts were out. But, in reality, ObamaCare is actually losing ground in the polls since being passed. Once again, the Democrats are totally out of step with the principals and values of mainstream Americans.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly....Of Health Care Reform

Now that the Senate version of the health care reform bill has been passed and signed into law, you can expect that the Democrats will spend from now until the Fall elections hyping all of its good points. Also, don't ever expect them to say "health care reform" again. Instead, they are now using "health insurance reform" in an attempt to win support for the bill as a reform of all those bad insurance companies that people hate so much.

Expect the Dems to hit the campaign trail hard by saying that 32 million uninsured will now get insurance because of them. They will tell you that if you or any of your children have a pre-existing condition, you can't be refused insurance; and, the cost must be the same as the other insured. They will also hype the fact that this law will remove lifetime caps on the amount of money that insurance companies will pay out for illnesses. Also, if you get sick, an insurance company can't drop you. They will tell you that your children, if they elect to go on to college, can be covered as part of your insurance policy until they reach age 26. Small businesses will get a 36% tax credit for providing health insurance to its employees (albeit a small benefit in comparison to the actual cost of the insurance). We will all be protected by a Patient's Bill of Rights. That any and all preventative care (ie. semi-annual and annual doctor visits and test) must be for free. That families making less than $88,000 will receive tax credits to help pay for their insurance. That the drug prescription donut hole in medicare coverage has been closed. Lastly, expect many of those campaigning Democrats to actually say that American families will see a $2500 reduction in their health insurance bills; even though this is a flat out lie that even Obama keeps repeating.

Certainly, all those things (if true) are the good. But, all of those things will come with a very high price; and, it is all the costs and expected reduced care that are the bad and the ugly that comes along with the package.

It all starts by adding those 32 million uninsured to the health care system.

First, most of those 32 million will be low income family members and will be added to the existing Medicaid system. The cost for insurance under Medicaid is shared equally by the states and the federal government. With a mandated fixed cost of $6,000 per Medicaid insured, this means that the state governments will have an unfunded mandate to pay close to $100 billion dollars a year for those new Medicaid patients. Many states are already in the red financially and this will just make things worse. For example, near-bankrupt California, with 12% of the country's population and assuming that they will have a representative share of the new Medicaid patients, will have an additional $12 billion in expenses per year thrown at them because of the new health care law. Eventually, that $100 billion in new expenses will show up on our doorsteps as some kind of new state income or sales tax.

I also believe that 32 million uninsured to be a stale number. 8 million people have lost their jobs and their insurance over the last 3 years. Even if some of them did find work, it was more than likely the kind of work that is likely to not have employer-based health insurance; such as temporary employment. Further, Obama and the Democrats next big project appears to give legal status to illegal aliens. If that is done some 7 to 8 million, low income aliens will be eligible for Medicaid assistance. I think if you add it all up, you are probably looking at 45 to 50 million people being added to Medicaid at a cost to the states upwards of $150 billion dollars a year.

The 32 million now or possibly 50 million new Medicaid patients later are going to put a further strain on an already strained medical system. While it is true that our emergency rooms will be freed up as a result of converting these people to an insured status, the family practitioners will now become swamped for a variety of reasons. First, the number of family doctors has been falling for years. So, now, the dwindling pool of primary care physicians will be charged with as much as 20% more patients than they have now; and, that simply means longer lines for care with less time spent with a doctor. Also, when those people were uninsured, they only went to the emergency rooms when they were seriously ill. We know from statistics that once people have insurance they see doctors more frequently for even minor injuries or illness. Additionally, ObamaCare mandates that there be preventative care which means those 32 million plus will get free semi-annual office visits and blood tests. That alone will add a tremendous burden on the primary care system in this country. But, worse than that, that mandate will also include the entire 300 million people of America; many of which, today, don't even see a doctor unless they are very ill.

Then there's the underpayment of costs by Medicare and Medicaid. Health care givers only get about 75 cents on every dollar from Medicare and Medicaid for the services they provide. That shortfall is then passed on to all the other non-Medicaid and non-Medicare patients receiving care and that means we will all pay more in higher insurance premiums; not lower premiums as this President keeps hyping. Additionally, it is the intent of this new reform law to reduce Medicare costs by more than $50 billion a year. Once again, this will force higher costs on the privately insured of this country.

Also, several mandates of this legislation will automatically force higher insurance rates. The inclusion of highly expensive pre-existing conditions will force all insurance premiums up. The so-called "free" preventative care" isn't going to be free. The care givers and health insurance companies aren't going to "pro bono" this kind of care. Instead, other services will have to be padded to cover the cost. Again, it means insurance rates will go up.

Additionally, the Secretary of Heath and Human Services (HHS) is charged with determining what level of insurance can be offered. Don't expect HHS to be judicious in what they mandate. Expect their definition of what basic insurance is to be higher than what, probably, 50% of us have in our existing insurance policies. As a result, you can expect that most of us will see our premiums go up in order to meet the new norms being established by HHS.

As I have noted before, expect the corporate cost to provide health care insurance to go up substantially. When that happens, that will reduce the amount of income taxes that the state and federal governments will receive. In just the last week several corporations have already noted how much ObamaCare is going to cost them; with AT&T leading the pack at a price tag of a billion dollars a year in new expenses. In many cases, corporations will probably raise prices to cover their costs. That, then, means that we all will pay in the form of higher costs.

Lastly, the fines being levied under this legislation are going to be an incentive not to have insurance. Why would anyone buy an $8,000 a year insurance policies if in fact they can pay the fine at a 1/3 of those costs and, then, when they do get sick just immediately sign up for insurance. After all, under this new law, no insurance company can refuse you for any pre-existing conditions. Expect people to game this weakness in the law by going in and out of insurance as necessary and sticking insurance companies with all the costs and little or no revenues in terms of consistent monthly premiums. This, again, will force insurance companies to jack up the rates on the rest of us who have policies and pay for them on a consistent basis.

In conclusion, and in light of all of the above, I believe that ultimately costs will go up and quality of service will go down. In fact, I suspect the end result will be a health care system that is in complete ruin after the full effects of this law are in place by 2018. The elderly of this nation will be herded into clinical environments and they will lose any guarantee of having a dedicated primary physician because many doctors and some hospitals will refuse to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients. Expect less insured than more, as more and more people figure out that they can game the system. As with Social Security and today's Medicare/Medicaid, you will see nothing but waste, fraud, and corruption, and the supposed cost controls of health care won't ever materialize. Instead, my guess is that costs will skyrocket. This entire legislation is purposely intended to force insurance companies to keep raising premiums, lose participants, and, ultimately, force lawmakers into the only option left: A public option.In my opinion, what the Democrats will be hyping on the campaign trail could have been done much more easily and without dismantling the entire system. But, their goal was a takeover; not any improvement in the care that Americans get. Time will clearly bear this out.

The Rage From Within

Right now, the Democrats are desperately trying to paint those who are angry about the health care law as a bunch of right-wing radicals. They point to death threats that a couple of people have received over the votes. But, in contradiction to Democrat's efforts, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Congress has noted that, currently, there aren't any widespread death threats but they are remaining vigilant. My guess is that someone like Glenn Beck probably gets more death threats from the left in one day than all of Congress in a year.

Yes, there is anger out there. What was done was done on a purely partisan basis. Not a single Republican voted for this health care takeover. The only bipartisanship was in opposition. That's because more than just a few sensible and fear-for-their-jobs Democrats joined the Republicans against what Pelosi/Obama/Reid wanted passed. That bill, which was so far reaching in its impact on all Americans, was only passed with a slim 3-vote majority in the House and only achieved a 2/3 majority in the Senate after arm twisting and bribery ruled the day; and, that hardly makes it a true piece of good-for-all legislation.

I lived and served during the Vietnam War era. I saw a lot of anger then. However, it was initially from an extremely vocal and active minority of young pacifists. As the death tolls rose to unbearable levels and when it was obvious that we were backing a corrupt government in Saigon, only then did the polls shift to a majority anger against the war.

Today's anger is different. In fact, it might not just be simple anger but, instead, a form of rage. Initially, there was a majority support for health care reform. As the process rolled on, the opposition grew because it was obvious that the corrupt government to be angry over was our very own. Because of this, the American people have coalesced more quickly against this partisan health care bill/law than was the case of Americans against the Vietnam War. People are aware that this thing wouldn't be law, today, if it hadn't been bought and paid for with a lot of bribery and dirty deal making from the Democratic leadership and from this President and his Administration. Yes, people are angry; maybe even enraged. However, America understands that the way to solve most all of our problems is to do it at the voting booths. They threw the bums out when Clinton was President and, it is my guess, that there's enough rage to do the same in this year's Fall elections.

God Save The Children Because Obama Didn't!

More than a year of screwing around has gone by. There is upwards of 2800 pages of legislation and , now, we find out that ObamaCare doesn't even cover any kids with pre-existing conditions (Click to See Full Story: Gap in health care law's protection for children).

You would have thought that the insurance coverage of children would have been the highest priority in this health care monstrosity the Democrats have come up with. In fact, every speech that Obama has given in the last year has specifically touted the children with pre-existing illnesses. This was one of the primary reasons we needed his health care plan. However, he and the Democrats were so hell bent on taking over medicine in America that they completely let the kids fall right through the cracks. How stupid! This is what happens when there's too many pages to actually read the bill.

As it is, the adults with pre-existing conditions won't get protected by ObamaCare until 2014; a year after the next Presidential election. That's because the Democrats know that insurance rates will soar when those people are included in the insurance system. So, if you're an adult without insurance and you just happen to be dying, try to hang on until 2014 when the law covering your malady finally kicks in.

Obama's Bret Baier Interview Revealed A Lot About Obama And ObamaCare

Bret Baier, of Fox News' Special Report, is getting a heavy dose of hate mail. Most of it is from the far political left of this country. And, that should be expected. He made Obama look bad -- really bad -- in his exclusive interview on Wednesday. Baier made this President look more like a man who was being interrogated for committing a crime; not a man who was the President of the most powerful country in the world and who should be in complete command. He completely dodged some questions. He gave all too many intentionally confusing and evasive answers. For Obama, it was a full hour's worth of "Amateur Hour"; even though it only lasted fifteen minutes.

It was obvious that the President doesn't really know what is in the health care legislation when he made this statement: "By the time the vote has taken place, not only will I know what's in it, you'll know what's in it..." It is also apparent, from that comment, that he doesn't care what's in the bill. He doesn't care if it is bad or good for the country. All he wants is reform; any reform; and, reform that will put the first, big finger of this government's heavy hand on the health care system of the nation. Any reform that is a baby step towards its complete takeover. That was very obvious; even though the always-loving-Obama media probably didn't hear that in his answers, it was there if you listened. It was there when this supposedly trained Constitutional lawyer said that "we shouldn't worry about the process" in an answer as to whether or not he backed the "Slaughter - deemed to pass -- Rule"; a rule that many believe is an unconstitutional procedure for the passage of this law or anything except for the minor budgetary changes that it had been traditionally used for in the past. This is a man who vowed to protect and defend the Constitution but, in his comments to Bret Baier, is now completely willing to violate that oath in order to get his health care takeover enacted. In my opinion, if this man signs something into law that was unconstitutionally passed through Congress (a violation of Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution ), he is guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and should be impeached and dishonorably removed from Office. Those, too, who passed the legislation, should also be punished. Hopefully, the next non-Democratic Congress will be able to prosecute this President and those of Congress that passed this into law.

Bret Baier's interview exposed Obama for what he really is. It also exposed his true intentions on health care, and, it clearly proved that he is a man who could care less about our Constitution. Who better to abuse it than a man like Obama -- a Constitutional lawyer.

The New Police State Of Health Care In America

If what the Democrats of Congress posted on the Internet yesterday becomes law, that legislation will add 16,500 new IRS agents. That's the equivalent of adding the population of a small city to the IRS.

This fact, alone, tells you what health care reform is all about. It is a law that would mandate that companies -- large and small -- be fined for not providing health insurance to their employees. It is a law that says that you and I will be fined for not buying health insurance. And, it is law that will go after insurance companies and doctors for not meeting all the other ridiculous mandates as outlined under their so-called reform.

The IRS will be the Gestapo organization that will used to bust heads over not complying with what the Democrats seem to think health care in should be. Sadly, the health care system in America will become a police state. It will no longer be about quality of care. Instead, it will be all about the bottom line and the growth of government's control over our lives. And, it is this massive addition of IRS agents that clearly points those facts out.

Even The Correction Is A Lie

On Monday, Obama held a town hall meeting with about 200 loving and adoring supporters to talk about -- what else -- his health care plan. During his speech the stupid crowd gave him rousing applause when he made the absolutely ridiculous remark that his health care plan will lower health care premiums by "THREE THOUSAND PERCENT"! As a point of reference, a 100% reduction in premiums would mean no one would be paying anything for their health care. 3000% means that the insurance companies would be paying you tens of thousand of dollars to have a health care policy with them.

Realizing how stupid that remark was, the White House press office issued a correction by saying that Obama meant to say that ObamaCare would save $3000 a year in health care premiums. But, that too is a ridiculous statement. Every study that has been conducted to review the impact of ObamaCare has established that health insurance premiums will go up. Not down! Note this morning's Fact Check that was issued by the normally quite friendly to Obama Associated Press: FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama plan.

Just the mere fact that ObamaCare will cut $400 billion in Medicare payments will force those costs to be passed on to the private insurers; as it has all along. Additionally, ObamaCare will add millions of new insured to the system while doing nothing to increase the number of medical practitioners. Anyone who understands simple economics knows that increasing demand without increasing supply will result in higher prices; and, those price increases will be passed on to the insurance companies who will, in turn, raise their premiums for all of us who have private insurance. What's worse, the supply will actually go down. That's because the lowered Medicare payments will result in less doctors taking Medicare patients. Also, more than just a few doctors have indicated that they will leave the profession if ObamaCare is enacted; as noted by this recent O'Reilly commentary:



Obama and the Democrats are constantly complaining that people on the right are distorting his health care reform plan. But, the reality is that it is Obama and the Democrats who have done most of the lying about this legislation. There is no way you can add more people to what will be a shrinking health care system and expect the quality to remain the same and, at the same time, expect to lower costs and reduce the deficit.

It's All About The Numbers Mr. Obama!

In 2008, America spent roughly $2.2 trillion dollars, or 16% of the GDP, for health care. Based on a population of 300 million people, that is an average cost of more than $7,300 per person per year. However, we know that 46 million Americans don't have any health insurance. That means that those who do have insurance wind up footing the bill for those that don't. This, then, means the average cost of health insurance among those who have insurance is closer to $8,600 than the previously stated $7,300. On top of that, Medicare and Medicaid patients -- about 44 million people -- underpay the real cost of health care by about 20%. Therefore, that means the health care system is being underpaid by approximately $400 billion dollars a year by those two government insurance programs. That cost doesn't go away. Instead it is picked up, again, by all those who have private non-Medicare/non-Medicaid insurance. So, effectively, the real average cost for health care for those having private insurance turns out to be about $10,200 a year.

People who are self-employed probably pay close to that amount. However, most people -- the one's who get employer-based insurance -- don't see that amount because half or more of the cost is being picked up by the employer.

That brings me to Obama's town hall meeting in Ohio yesterday (Click to See Full Story: Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care). In his introductory speech on, once again, health care reform, he related a story of a woman by the name of Natoma Canfield who was a professional, self-employed cleaning woman. Ms. Canfield had to cancel her health insurance because the premiums rose to $8,500 a year and she just couldn't afford it. She subsequently contracted cancer and, I think you can figure out the worst-case scenario that followed from there.

The situation that Ms. Canfield found herself in is certainly a sad one. However, what Mr. Obama failed to explain in his use (or abuse) of her as an example is that the amount of money that Ms. Canfield was being asked to pay for health care insurance was more than fairly representative of what the true cost is for any self-employed worker in America. What's more, ObamaCare wouldn't change that. In fact, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office has indicated that Ms. Canfield's cost for private insurance cost is likely to go up under ObamaCare; especially when another $500 billion in Medicare cuts is implimented. Additionally, under the plan that Obama and the Democrat's have for health care reform, Ms. Canfield wouldn't be allowed to cancel her health insurance. If she did, she would be fined as much as $4,000 yearly; and, that fine wouldn't give her one iota's worth of health insurance coverage. It's just a fine that goes into the coffers of the Federal Government.

In typical fashion, Obama uses extreme examples that are complete distortions of the truth in order to sell his lies about ObamaCare. Sadly, and just like some ruthless con-man, he uses a poor woman with cancer to scam his target -- the American public.

The Democrats: All Tied Up In Their Own Gordian Knot

There's a lot of things that could be said, politically, about the Democrats and their head long plunge into getting their partisan health care reform legislation passed. However, I would prefer to simply express it as saying that they have created a Gordian Knot of their own doing.

In legend, the Phrygian King, Gordius, allowed himself to be tied in a circular knot that, presumably, could only be untied by the person qualified to be the king of all Asia. However, as the legend continues, Alexander the Great solved the complexity of the knot by simply cutting it in half with his sword. Thus, the moral of the legend is that there can be a quick solution to even the most difficult of problems.

The Gordian Knot that the Democrats now find themselves in is the fact that they are damned if they do pass health care reform and they are damned if they don't. They are damned if they do because the bulk of Americans don't want the plan as it is written. As a result, the political gurus are predicting heavy losses for them in the Fall elections. They are damned if they don't because their own political base would be turned off and they could suffer even bigger loses due to assumed voter apathy on the left; resulting in a poor turnout by their supporters in November. This, then, could result in an "anti-Democrat" turnout with little or no "pro-Democrat" votes to offset it. It is for this reason that the Democrats think their losses could be even greater.

So, they have painted themselves into a corner.

The simple solution that could break the knot would be to start over and create a bipartisan bill that would be acceptable to the majority of people in this country. Barack Obama could figuratively act as Alexander the Great in this situation by simply giving his blessing to a new beginning for health care reform. However, he lacks the wisdom of Alexander the Great because he is an ideologue who is hell bent on pushing this highly charged legislation through Congress. As a consequence, he is actually tightening the "Knot" -- much like a hangman's noose around the neck of each and every Democrat.

What we are actually witnessing is mass stupidity and mass suicide by one political party -- something that has, to my knowledge, never been seen in American politics. It is being completely driven by ideology and not common sense. And, as history has proven, over and over again, that when leaders and rulers, politicians, and governments ignore the will of the people, they are doomed to fail.

Traaaw-ble....Trouble..Trouble...Trouble...Trouble...Trouble!

When President Obama is forced to delay his upcoming trip to Indonesia in order to personally muscle his own health care bill through Congress, you've got to know that there is some serious trouble among the Democrats in what should have been a complete cakewalk; given their majority control in both Houses.

Yesterday, the entire "gang" of House Democrats cloistered in a Congressional meeting room and Nancy Pelosi emerged empty handed without even a simple one vote majority. We know this because, if she had the votes, she would be proceeding with passing the legislation.

Now, I can only assume that real deal making -- much like the low-life deals we already know of -- will begin in earnest. I would suspect these new ones will make the previous Louisiana Purchase, Gator Aid, and Corn Husker Kickback look like child's play. But, I'll will also bet that they will do everything in their power to hide these new bribes because of the previous political heat they got from the last ones.

What is really sad is that these unethical Democrats are attempting to completely take over 16% of this country's economy with just the slenderest of margins and no bipartisan support. And, to do this, they are using some of the most unethical deal making that this country has ever seen. You can thank the President and his background in corrupt Chicago politics for that. Never in the history of this country has this free market economic system completely taken over an entire industry such as health care. If they are successful, I can only imagine that other industries, such as energy production, are next on the list.

Some Truths About Wellpoint's 39% Health Insurance Rate Increase in California

Prior to Obama's Health Care Summit, the Democrats were up in arms and were quick to repeat that health care reform was needed to keep bad health insurers from jacking insurance rates up by 39%; as was the case with Wellpoint Anthem Blue Cross in California. But, the 39% is a political exaggeration that is being used, not to control the health insurers, but, instead, takeover health care in America.

It is true that Wellpoint will raise "some" insurance premiums by 39%. But, the operative word is "some" and not all; as the Democrats would have you believe. As it is, they will raise premiums by an average of 25% which, too, is still very high; but, significantly lower than the exaggerated claim by the Democrats.

What people seem to forget is that health insurance is a highly regulated activity in all 50 states; with extremely liberal California being one of the most avid regulating entities. For that reason, you should know that Wellpoint didn't just raise their rates without getting prior approval from the State of California's Insurance Commission.

Since 2007 and the beginning of the recession, Wellpoint's profits had been falling. From 2007 to 2008, their profits fell nearly 40%. But, by the end of 2009, Wellpoint's profits were actually double that of 2007. Therefore, the need for a rate increase was being distorted by Wellpoint and, apparently, the California Insurance Commission fell for it; hook, line, and sinker.

In typical fashion, the Democrats love to use "extremes" as an example of why they should do something. But, in reality, all extremes are hardly the norm and the use of them is more theatrics than reality. Probably the worst case of using extremes was when Rep. Louise M. Slaughter told a story where a woman was forced to use her dead sister's dentures because she didn't have insurance (Click to See Full Story: HEALTH: Slaughter’s story goes national ). Of course, the reality is that we don't have a rash of people running around with the dead people's dentures in their mouths. More importantly, most health insurance doesn't cover dental. So, even if the Democrats do pass health care reform, that woman will still have to wear her sister's fake teeth.

For sure, Wellpoint's rate increase, by any measure, is totally out of line. However, under the current state-by-state regulation of health insurance providers, it is up to the State of California to come down hard on Wellpoint for distorting it's earnings numbers in an attempt to justify an outrageous rate increase. Also, the Democrat's attempt to portray this single incident as the "norm" in the industry is also out of line and irresponsible. They, too, should be punished by being thrown out of office on their ears in November's mid-term elections.

Pelosi's Twisted Logic

On Sunday's "This Week" program on ABC, Nancy Pelosi made this absurd statement about the Democrats voting to pass the health care reform bill in the face of such broad opposition:

"We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress. We're here to do the job for the American people."

The absurdity of her statement is in the fact the people of America, in poll after poll, don't want ObamaCare as written and, therefore, the passage of such legislation would be totally contrary to Pelosi's comment that "We're here to do the job for the American people."

Furthermore, the members of Congress were only "sent" to represent the people of their respective states and districts. If they do lose their jobs over health care reform, it is because they didn't do their jobs. What Ms. Pelosi doesn't seem to understand is that "self-perpetuating our service in Congress" and doing the "job for the American people" are in complete harmony with each other -- not in discord with each other as she seems to imply in her statement, above.

Click to See Story That This Post is Based on: "Pelosi to Dems: back health bill even if it hurts".

The Antagonist-In-Chief

In this week's "Health Reform Summit", the President was supposed to be a moderator between the Democrats and Republicans of Congress. In that role, I would think it was his job to build consensus between the two parties so that some kind of common ground on health care reform could be found. But, instead, the American public saw Obama as some kind of petty politician, an antagonist, and not the "leader" who would bring the two sides together.

He would rudely cut off any Republicans if he so much as objected to a single point that they were trying make. As a result, the Democrats got the bulk of the talking time in front of the cameras and the Republicans got the dregs. You could literally see the irritation on Obama's face when the Republicans brought up facts about ObamaCare that he knew would not "not" sit well with the American people. He acted like a king ruling over what he seemed to think was "his" court; using slap-downs as much as possible to channel the direction of the "Summit" in his direction.

To me, Obama showed his lack of management skills. Any, lower tiered manager in business would be better experienced at "team building", establishing synergy, and directing "brainstorming sessions" than was exhibited by the President. The "Summit", itself, showed how partisan he is and how his Democratic colleges have no intention of working with Republicans. It is obvious that the Democrats were intent on using the "Summit" as theater and are still intent on ramming health care through. Being quite familiar with the health care bills in Congress, I saw numerous attempts by Obama to distort the facts about the separate legislation that was passed in each of the Houses. This either showed that Obama was unfamiliar with the details of those bills or that, more than likely, he was intentionally using false facts -- in front of those national cameras -- in an attempt to protect what is very ugly and very bad about either of those bills in Congress.

I think it was a P.R. disaster.